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Preparing for emergencies

My husband recently had a family member with a medical emergency. Thankfully, his family sprang to action to help take care of the three kids while mom was in the hospital and dad was tending to mom.

It’s scary when someone you love is in the hospital unexpectedly. It makes you wonder what would happen if you were suddenly incapacitated in some way.

This week’s article is not really about saving money, but more about saving your sanity in case something unexpected happens. What would you do? What if someone had to take over your family’s daily routine?

As we’re learning, I’ve come up with some suggestions to help you prepare for an emergency.

-If you have kids, make a list of what schools they go to, who their teachers are, and school contact information. It would also be helpful to include what times they need to be dropped off and picked up. If the kids are very young, include extracurricular activities as well.

-Make a list of any medications that you’re on, and any drug allergies you might have, as well as those of your kids. Write down if your kids need to be in car seats or booster seats, and if there are spares.

-If someone has your kids in case of an emergency, they may need to take them to the doctor or dentist. Make a copy of insurance cards, and doctor’s names and contact information. Put them in a safe place.

-Share these with a close friend or family member to keep on hand in case of emergencies and let them know where to find a spare key if needed. If you are a heavy phone user like I am, you may want to create these lists on your phone as well so that they are likely to be with you and you (or someone with you) can share them easily.

It’s important to keep these lists updated so that someone could take over if needed.

Don’t forget, it’s free to be prepared!

You can believe our experience has convinced me to start doing this for our family.